Desserts From Around The World You Have To Try

Who can ever get enough dessert? Every culture has its own special sweet treats, originating from the ingredients unique to that region. The next time you make a trip to one of these places, be sure to sample these desserts! But just in case it’s not within your financial ability to go to all 8 of these countries (most of us, I’m sure), we’ve also linked the recipes to each of these scrumptious desserts so you can still try them!

Of course, we have to start with a classic: the iconic American apple pie. With warm, cinnamon-y, gooey apples and a buttery, flaky, golden crust, no wonder it’s a favourite. And it contains fruit, so it’s basically healthy.

This dessert didn’t actually originate in America, though. British colonists brought over their varieties of apples and planted them. When the harvest came, they had an abundance of apples, and what better to do with apples than turn it into pie? A system of thought that has happily continued to this day.

The pavlova is basically a cake made entirely of meringue (whipped egg whites + sugar), usually with a topping of some sort, like whipped cream or fruit. The texture is really something else, airy and light; it’s crunchy and crispy at the first bite and chewy in the middle.

The dessert was coined “pavlova” after the famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, when she toured around New Zealand and Australia. The unique delicate texture is meant to be reminiscent of the lightness of her dancing.

Liu sha bao literally translates into “flowing sand bun”. It’s a steamed bun with a molten salted egg custard filling, eaten hot. The Chinese really love salted eggs, and put it in everything, savoury or sweet. It works deliciously in this dessert.

When you bite into it, the hot buttery custard bursts into your mouth, and if you’re not careful, will trickle down your hands. It’s an extremely rich and liquidy (read: melted butter) filling, so it’s a good thing these buns are so small! Eaten at dim sum, you usually only eat one at a time. Unless you’re lucky enough to be a child, in which case the adults will happily sacrifice their buns for you.

Some people (the Chinese) will argue that this dessert came originally from China, however, it’s a hugely popular dessert in South Korea. The base of the dessert is shaved ice, which is then topped with anything like ice cream, fruit, adzuki beans, condensed milk, chocolate, mochi, jelly, or whipped cream. And usually is topped with all of that, if not more.

What kind of a name for a dessert is “spotted dick,” am I right? In the U.K., “pudding” is interchangeable with “dessert”. And pudding used to be called “puddick”. So for short, people would call this dessert spotted ‘dick. Despite the name, it’s one of the most popular puddings.

Spotted dick is a cake cooked from steam, with raisins, currants, and other small dried fruits, thus the “spottiness” of the dick. It’s usually served warm with a cold custard sauce.

Gulab jalum is commonly eaten at festivals, celebrations, and special occasions. It’s kind of like a cross between a doughnut and a dumpling, made with reduced, thickened milk or milk solids. After they’re cooked they’re soaked and served in a warm rose syrup. They’re little sweet balls of goodness. The outside is a (beautiful deep-fried) golden and the inside is pale, with a texture like a moist crumbly dumpling.

Pronounced al-fa-HO-res, these sandwich cookies are kind of like the national cookie of Argentina, and much of Latin America. They’re made from two crumbly cookies sandwiched over a generous dollop of dulce de leche, a kind of milky caramel. There are different varieties, some having a jam or chocolate filling, and some rolled in coconut.

The result is a gooey and decadent sweet. And it’s not only reserved for dessert — many Argentinians eat them for breakfast or with their tea and coffee as well.

Baumkuchen translates to “tree cake,” after the layers in the cake when sliced. This super unique cake is cooked on a rotating spindle. Cake batter is slathered on, cooked, then another layer is added, thus creating the layers. It takes a lot of patience, but the end result is a beautiful, caramel-y cake.

As it does require rare tools, however, a lot of people just make this layered cake in a regular cake tin. While the traditional shape isn’t there, the novelty taste and distinctive layers are still replicable!

Tell us:

[quote_center]Which one of these desserts have you tried?[/quote_center]